The Click Test: A Novel Tool to Quantify the Age-Related Decline of Fast Motor Sequencing of the Thumb

Current Aging Science
Florian BodranghienKim van Dun

Abstract

The thumb plays a critical role for manual tasks during the activities of daily life and the incidence of neurological or musculoskeletal disorders affecting the voluntary movements of the thumb is high in the elderly. There is currently no tool to assess repetitive motor sequencing of the thumb during ageing. To report a novel procedure (the Click Test) assessing the effects of ageing on fast motor sequencing of the thumb. Healthy subjects (n = 252; mean age +/- SD: 49.76 +/- 19.97 years; range: 19-89 years; F/M: 151/101) were asked to perform fast repeated flexion/extension movements of the thumb using a mechanical counter. Motor performances (assessed by the number of clicks during 3 time periods: 15, 30 and 45 sec), significantly decreased as a function of age for both the dominant (age effect; p< 0.0001 for 15, 30 and 45 sec) and the non-dominant hand (p<0.0001 for 15, 30 and 45 sec). The number of clicks was significantly higher in males (gender effect; p<0.001) and was higher on the dominant side as compared to the non-dominant side (handedness effect: p<0.001). The Click Test is characterized by high repeatability (coefficients of variation from 3.20 to 4.47%), excellent intra-rater reliability (intra-class coefficients...Continue Reading

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